My Review
This is Where We Talk Things Out is fact paced, dark, and full of twists!
This is Where We Talk Things Out is one of those books that is always being recommended to me on the Kindle store (because I read a lot of dark horror and thrillers, I guess), and I’ve had my eye on for a while. However, something always prevented me from picking this one up and in between, I would often forget about it.
The other day, though, I finally decided to take the plunge and give this one a read, and let me just say…this book was not at all what I was expecting.
I tend not to read too many novellas and short stories because I always end up falling in love with the stories and the characters and wishing there was more to read, and I find myself getting disappointed by the fact that they are too short. However, I’ve been reading more and more novellas and short stories lately because I’ve been really busy and haven’t had as much time to read, so these seem to fit the bill perfectly. This is Where We Talk Things Out is no exception to this, because I was able to read it in a single sitting, which was nice. However, I once again found myself getting kind of sad when the story was over, because this could have been a full length novel, too.
This is Where We Talk Things Out is a story about about a woman named Miller, who lives with her fiance. The two of them are close and in love, but Miller has always been troubled by the fact that she and her mother have always been at odds. Ever since Miller’s father died, her mother has been trying to get in contact with her, and while Miller’s fiance tells her not to fall for her tricks, Miller can’t help but have the desire for that close family relationship. It doesn’t help that Miller and her fiance are getting married soon, and Miller is worried that she won’t have anyone to invite to their wedding.
So when her mother invites her to a “girl’s weekend” away at a cabin, Miller’s fiance tells her it’s a bad idea (as Miller’s mother Sylvie has never approved of Miller being involved with another woman), and tries to convince her to stay home, but Miller’s desire for a close relationship with her mother pushes her into going with her.
“And while Sylvie had a bad habit of extending poison ivy disguised as olive branches, Miller had a worse habit of accepting them.”
So when Sylvie begins criticizing everything Miller does, she is not surprised – in fact, she partially expects it. After arguing in the car on the way to the cabin, Miller falls asleep, and when they arrive at the cabin, and actually get inside, Miller doesn’t know what to think.
The entire cabin has been made to look like Miller’s childhood home.
And it doesn’t stop there. Things get weirder and weirder, and Miller starts to wonder if she should have listened to her fiance and stayed home, after all.
I don’t want to get into any more detail with this book. It’s full of twists and turns and I honestly didn’t expect it to end the way it did, either. It was shocking.
Another thing I noticed about this book was the character development. In the beginning, Sylvia seems a little unhinged and maybe a bit disturbed, but by the end of the book you will be picking your jaw up off the floor. The same is true of Miller’s character – she has to deal with a lot and it gets scary at times – you will be able to see exactly why she is the way she is. The author really gives us a good view into Miller’s head and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
This is one of those books that should be read only if you’re into more extreme horror and thrillers. It is a pretty dark book, but wow did I love it. It takes a lot of twists and turns to really wow me after all my years of reading, but Caitlin Marceau really hit the nail on the head when she wrote this book!